"With the certitude of a true believer, Vellya Paapen had assured the twins that there was no such thing in the world as a black cat. He said that there were only black, cat-shaped holes in the universe."
-- Arundhati Roy, The God of Small Things

Thursday, March 21, 2013

When Moonlighting as a Nanny for the Third Night in a Row





It is not uncommon
to find yourself wide awake
at 3:00AM
convinced
the only thing keeping
that toddler in her bed
is sheer will.
But then a half hour passes
without incident
and then forty-five minutes
and then an hour
of peace
and you start to close your eyes
relax your focus
loosen the hold on your mind
until suddenly you find yourself
alert once again
at 4:00AM
fingers gripping the covers
eyes piercing the darkness
praying
praying
praying
that the slow
ominous
creak
you just heard in the hallway
is a ghost.




No comments:

Post a Comment